To Catch a Cold
by theramenfreak
Summary: How did Toshiro catch his mysterious cold? Matsumoto discovers a little secret. HitsuHina
1. Cold

"MATSU-_ACHOO_"

Toshiro's eyes widened as he was cut off by a violent sneeze.

"Taicho?"

Toshiro whipped his head up, "What?"

Rangiku's head popped back in the doorway. She had been halfway down the hall when she heard the improvised version of her last name. Intrigued by the abnormality, she had braved the possible wrath of her angry captain and returned to uncover the potential embarrassment.

"Did you...just sneeze?"

"No"

"I think you did"

"I did no such thing"

"Yes you did!"

"No, I just- _achoo_!"

Toshiro's facial expression melted into a look of horror. He had sneezed. His eyes were red-rimmed and he had been blowing his nose almost constantly for the last few days. He didn't want to admit it to himself, but it seemed Rangiku had no reservations.

"Taicho, do you...do you have a _cold_?" She asked incredulously, her shoulders shaking with the effort of holding in rambunctious laughter. It seemed this could quite possibly be the height of amusement.

"No" He stated shortly. Usually when Toshiro used that tone, it would mean the end of all discussion; however now, with his bright, red cheeks and sulky tone, Rangiku found his overwhelming adorability quash any fears that he would be any harm in this state.

"Aww, Taicho! Don't deny it! You should go rest, I will...oversee the paperwork," She lied blatantly. Toshiro's eyes narrowed.

"Matsumoto. The day you do paperwork, I will proclaim my love for candy and toys"

"Really?"

"No. Now go do something useful!"

'_Strengthening relationships with fellow Shinigami is usefull, right?' _Rangiku thought as she sat at the regular table with Shuuhei and Kira, downing sake bottle after sake bottle, _'Though I still wonder how my Taicho could've caught a cold...'_

_~Flashback~_

_Momo hummed a cheerful tune as she worked, trying to distract her from her sombre mood. Each brushstroke was carefully placed, as there was no room for mistakes. Ever since Aizen had showed his true colors, Momo had been determined to step up and fill in for the missing leader._

_She hadn't been sleeping well, though. Her eyes were rimmed with dark shadows and you only had to look into them to see that a great sadness still weighed heavily on her mind. Because of the lack of sleep, she had come down with a weak cold. Even now, she could feel the throbbing of her throat and the need to blow her nose, rose once again. _

_As she brought her hand back to make a final stroke on the pristine page, her sleeve caught the small ink pot, tipping it over. She watched almost in slow motion as the black spilled towards her hard work, and felt despair run through her. Then it froze- literally- inches away from the paper. _

"_Wha..."_

"_You really ought to be more careful, you know"_

_Momo started at the familiar voice._

"_Toshiro-kun!" _

_Sure enough, there stood the shortest (and most irritable) captain of the sereitei, amusement written all over his face. _

"_That's _Captain_ Hits-"_

"_What are you doing here!"_

_Toshiro's usually cold and unreadable eyes darted down to the floor and he muttered the words so quietly that Momo could barely hear them._

"_...wondered...later..."_

"_Sorry?"_

_He took a deep breath and raised his eyes to stare at something over her shoulder._

"_I was just wondering if you, ahem...want to, uh...meet up with me...alone...later on this evening..."_

_Momo was startled at first, then she let a grin steal over her face. _

"_Why, Toshiro _Taicho_! Are you asking me on a date?" She asked; a definite teasing note in her voice._

_Toshiro glared at her for a moment, not failing to notice the mocking tone when she called him 'taicho'. _

"_Forget it," he gave in, and turned to walk out the door. He was about to step out when he heard Momo call, "I'll see you under the cherry blossom tree at seven!"_

_Toshiro paused and smiled to himself before continuing back to his headquarters to finish his paperwork- and Rangiku's- however, now it didn't seem like such a daunting prospect. _

_~End Flashback~_

"Rangiku-san?"

Rangiku looked up at the sound of her name. She had been reading a magazine about the latest styles in the human world when the sound of Momo knocking on her door woke her from her reprieve .

"Come in"

Momo grinned as she slid the door open, "Good, _achoo!_ ...morning, Rangiku-san."

"Morning! What brings you here, Momo-san?"

"I have the paperwork from the SWM. They said it has to be in by next week."

"Oh? There goes my weekend!" Rangiku looked slyly at the small girl and added, "I thought you would be looking for my taichooo, Momo-chan"

Momo blushed furiously, "What? Why would you think that?"

"Oh, no reason...no reason. Say...was that a sneeze I heard before?"

Momo looked up tiredly, "Yes. I've a rather bad cold all week."

Rangiku felt a strange combination of triumph and wild delight, "Is that so? You'll never believe this but my captain seems to have a slight cold as well! How unusual..."

Momo took great interest in her feet.

"Ah, yes. Very...very unusual. Well, I should be going...I'll see you later, Rangiku-san"

As the door slid shut, Rangiku let out a slight maniacal laugh.

"Oh, yes, I've got you _all _figured out, taicho!" And with that, Rangiku began plotting her scheme to find evidential proof that her captain was up to no good.

**A/N **I don't know if I'm going to continue this or not, so let me know if you think it's chapter 2-worthy.


	2. Blackmail

A lone figure was hurrying down one of the back streets of Rukongai. They were glancing over their shoulder repeatedly, checking that no wandering eyes were following them; the shadows that could effectively hide a suspicious onlooker were growing with each minute as the sun slowly sunk below the horizon. They wore a light-colored kimono that clung tightly to their body and a dark shawl, shielding themselves from the cold. If a passer by did happen to glance at the silhouette, they would see a young girl, perhaps making her way home from a stall or a friends house. They would be mistaken, since the young girl was none other, than-

"Were you followed?"

She started as she heard a low voice coming from an alley to her left. She looked sideways, and sure enough, there sat another figure, leaning against the alley wall, hair slightly glowing in the dark. This person was predominantly male and wore a dark colored long sleeved shirt with loose-fitting, full length pants.

She shook her head, "No. I made sure no one saw me leave. Though Matsumoto wouldn't let me out of her sight for a while"

The figure sidled up next to him and rested a head on his shoulder, noticing the flash of a grin, "Ah, well. That's my lieutenant for you...always getting involved"

Momo smiled back, "Yes, but I'm here now"

Toshiro leaned over and touched his lips to hers, "and thank god for that..." He murmured, making her face turn bright red.

* * *

"What did you say?"

Matsumoto sat up a little straighter in her chair and pushed the strawberry locks out of her face. Her eyes narrowed and her eyebrows furrowed in concentration. Her captain suddenly leaving? With no warning and now this?

"Hinamori Fukutaicho is not in her quarters. I had 12th seat Hiyame ask for her at the 5th Division headquarters but no one has seen her since late this afternoon"

Matsumoto fought hard to suppress the urge to smile._ 'Meeting in secret, huh, Taicho? You are so busted,'_ she thought with venomous glee. Now all Rangiku had to figure out was _where_ they were meeting.

"Thank you, Yiruma, you're dismissed"

The brunette bowed and left, looking over his shoulder as he went, slightly worried about what his fukutaicho could be planning. Of course, his fears were understandable. If anyone else attempted what Rangiku was about to, they would find themselves glorified for all eternity in a block of unbreakable ice.

* * *

"Shiro-chan?"

Toshiro looked up from his plate of food to see Momo staring at him, quite intently. Her brown eyes alone, were enough to make him forget that she called him Shiro-Chan. He was also aware, of course, that the tightly-clinging, soft pink kimono accentuated her figure quite nicely. Noticing where his thoughts had been straying, a deep blush crept over his cheeks. He ducked his head again in embarrassment and took great interest in his hand lying on the table.

"Shiro-chan? Are you okay?"

He raised his head once more, at the sound of her sing song voice. Their eyes met again and his blush reddened furiously. He kept his his eyes on hers, this time, though, determined not to show the effect she had on him. He didn't need to force the smile that broke through his facade, though.

"Yes, I'm-"

"Shiro-chan, are you _blushing?_" She laughed.

His resolve shattered, right then.

"No," He muttered, and looked down once more.

Momo was overcome with a fit of giggles as she watched the normally closed-off, irate boy struggle to find words.

"Yes, you are! Look! You're cheeks are as bright as my dress! Oh, Shiro-chan, you're so-"

She was abruptly cut off as his mouth met hers.

Momo's eyes widened in shock, then, as she felt his lips; soft on hers, she closed them and relaxed, enjoying this long-awaited moment.

* * *

"MATSUMOTO!"

Toshiro stood, staring down at the polaroid photo that sat right at the top of the pile of paperwork he was meant to be filling out.

Toshiro could clearly make out the two figures in the centre. The one that drew his attention, was the kimono-clad girl with black hair done up elaborately. Of course, his silver hair was immediately recognizable and he realized, with a jolt, that anyone in the Sereitei would know who the pair was, also. It wasn't the people in the photo, that alarmed him, though...it was the fact that Matsumoto had managed to catch their kiss on camera.

'_Oh god..._' He thought, dreading what the other captains reactions would be if they ever discovered this. Taped to the picture, was a small, but irritating letter, reading:

_Dear Taicho-_

_My demands will be filed with the paperwork, tomorrow._

_Rangiku Fukutaicho :)_

"Matsumoto..." Toshiro growled, "What the HELL have you done..."

* * *

Matsumoto was lounging on the 5th Division's couch, again, teasing Momo.

"So, Momo...where were _you_ last-"

"MATSUMOTO!"

She stopped suddenly as she heard the echo of her Taicho's voice. He had found her note.

"Rangiku-san...what have you _done_, this time?" Momo asked, worry creeping into her voice.

She looked over at Hinamori, took a deep breath and began to explain. Momo's expression grew mortified with each word until, finally-

"Matsumoto! You didn't! Oh, dear, Shiro-chan must be furious!"

"I just hope it pays off!"

"Well I hope you found a good hiding spot for the original copy!"

Rangiku looked at her blankly, "What do you mean?"

"The original photo? Didn't you hide it? Hitsugaya-kun is very good at finding things, you know..."

"That...that _was_ the original..."

"Was it, now?" Came an angry voice from the doorway.

Rangiku turned from Momo, trying to stifle a giggle, to see a very angry slightly glowing Taicho.

'_Oh dear...'_

_

* * *

_

**A/N: **Sorry about the mix up, before, but now I confirm: This _is_ chapter 2... and the end of the story.


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